Chapter 262: Li Luo: I Once Chose Betrayal Three Times

The snow had stopped already by the fourth day.

By the seventh, the white snow on the streets had become nothing but dirty remnants clinging to corners.

In a few more days, it would be hard to see any trace of white snow at all.

And time, like this snow, vanished without a sound.

Yan Zhusheng went downstairs, found two decks of playing cards in the living room, then filled an empty plastic bag with snacks.

She turned to head upstairs.

But as she passed through the kitchen, she saw Ying Chanxi still carefully washing fruit, preparing to peel and slice it; Yan Zhusheng stopped in her tracks.

After a moment's thought, she walked into the kitchen, set the cards and snacks aside, and went to the sink to say, "Xixi, let me wash them for you."

"Oh, sure," Ying Chanxi moved aside to let her take the sink, then went to the cutting board, brought down a sharp knife on the half-chilled watermelon just taken from the fridge, cleanly scooped out the flesh, and sliced it neatly into portions.

Yan Zhusheng washed each piece of fruit clean.

For those needing peeling and slicing, she passed them to Ying Chanxi; for things like grapes, she just arranged them directly on plates.

Soon, the two had prepared several trays of fruit, and feeling they had enough, Ying Chanxi clapped her hands lightly: "Alright, that's good enough."

The two carried the fruit and snacks, took the cards, and returned to the third-floor bedroom.

As they entered the room, their eyes were immediately drawn to the mattress just laid out on the floor; they didn't notice the faintly altered expressions on Li Luo and Xu Youyu's faces.

"Why did you lay out a mattress on the floor?" Ying Chanxi exclaimed, placing her fruit tray on the desk.

"We'll probably play late tonight," Li Luo said, sitting on the bed and pulling a blanket over his thighs, smiling at the floor bed. "If you get tired, you can just sleep right there—my little bed won't fit four people."

Technically, squeezing in wasn't impossible.

But that would mean hugging on both sides with someone lying right between you.

Even in his dreams, Li Luo would never dream something so absurd.

"Then who sleeps on top, who sleeps on the bottom?" Yan Zhusheng asked the crucial question.

"We'll decide when you're tired," Li Luo dismissed the issue, taking the cards from her hand. "Or we can let skill decide—whoever wins the most gets first pick."

"Then we play Turtle Draw," Ying Chanxi narrowed her eyes. "Otherwise you'll remember the cards."

Li Luo stared blankly: "... Why are you targeting me? Turtle Draw is so boring."

"What matters most is having fun," Xu Youyu adjusted her collar and smiled. "I'll sleep on the floor tonight."

Yan Zhusheng looked from Xu Youyu to Ying Chanxi, then said: "Then I'll sleep with Senior."

Seeing both Xu Youyu and Yan Zhusheng had spoken, Ying Chanxi was momentarily speechless, her face flushing slightly as she muttered softly: "W-Who wants to sleep with this guy?"

"Then I'll let Xixi have my spot on the floor," Yan Zhusheng said seriously, then climbed straight onto Li Luo's bed and claimed a position.

Ying Chanxi stared at Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng on the bed, stunned, mouth opening and closing, unsure what to say.

In the end, she could only swallow her frustration, silently sitting down on the floor bed.

The four sat in a circle, two on the bed, two on the floor; Li Luo shuffled the cards and began dealing.

It was already half past ten at night.

None of them felt particularly sleepy.

The more they played, the more alert they became.

As they played, snacked, and ate fruit, slipping into a cheerful mood, Ying Chanxi temporarily forgot her earlier gloom.

They played until past one in the morning; Li Luo glanced at the clock and said: "How long are we playing? Should we clean up and get ready to sleep?"

"Don't rush," Xu Youyu said, accustomed to staying up late, still wide awake. After glancing around, she grinned mischievously. "I have a brilliant idea."

"Put that brilliant idea away," Li Luo narrowed his eyes, instantly sensing it was something unreliable.

But Yan Zhusheng asked curiously: "What idea?"

"Something more exciting!" Xu Youyu shuffled the cards as she spoke. "Whoever loses has to take off one piece of clothing."

Li Luo: "...?"

Ying Chanxi: "Huh?"

Yan Zhusheng: "Okay."

"No, why are you saying okay?!" Li Luo tapped Yan Zhusheng's head. "And Senior, don't be ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous about it?" Xu Youyu blinked innocently. "I haven't finished—I said once you're down to just your sleepwear, if you still lose, you have to go to sleep."

"I never said I'd strip naked."

"Li Luo, you're the one who imagined it wrong. Are you that eager to see us undress?"

Li Luo's face darkened: "Don't say nonsense."

"Don't want to see?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head. "But you wrote in your book that nine out of ten guys who claim they're not interested in girls are faking it, and the tenth is actually gay—so you..."

"This is bullying!" Li Luo gave up resisting, flopped flat onto the bed, closed his eyes, and surrendered. "Fine, I lose. Just stop torturing me."

"Alright, alright, we're just joking," Xu Youyu shuffled the cards and began dealing again. "It's just a gimmick—loser takes off one item, and when you're down to your last piece of clothing, you go to sleep. Come on."

The cruel game began.

Ying Chanxi was the first eliminated.

She had few clothes to begin with; after removing one sweater and two socks, she obediently went to sleep.

She glanced at Li Luo, gave a light huff, then went to the bathroom for a quick wash, returned, and lay down on the floor bed near the desk, pulling the blanket over herself and closing her eyes to sleep.

Now only three remained; the game shifted to Landlord, and Yan Zhusheng was quickly the second eliminated.

With Ying Chanxi setting the precedent, Yan Zhusheng quietly lay down on the inner side near the wall, leaving the middle space for the remaining two.

But Yan Zhusheng didn't actually sleep—she lay on her side, still watching them play.

When only two players remained, Xu Youyu chuckled softly and winked at Li Luo. "If you want, I'll go all the way with you—take off as many as you like."

Li Luo rolled his eyes, knowing his senior was teasing him deliberately, completely unmoved; he swiftly defeated her, tossed his remaining cards down, and declared:

"Alright, time to sleep."

It was nearly two a. m., and Li Luo was indeed very sleepy.

After washing up in the bathroom, he lay back on the bed and pulled the quilt over himself.

Xu Youyu was the last to return, turned off the bedroom light, and lay down beside Ying Chanxi on the empty space near the edge of the bed.

Yet this was the first time all four had slept in the same room together.

None of the four could really fall asleep.

Soon, when Xu Youyu began with, "Are you asleep yet?" the bedroom immediately filled again with their late-night chatter.

Only around three or four a. m. did they finally drift off in a daze.

……

At nine o'clock on the morning of the eighth day.

This time, Li Xiang slept in late—rare for him.

Last night he stayed up reading the latest chapter of Literary Era, deeply shaken by its newest plot twist; after finishing, he felt utterly drained, as if his body had been hollowed out.

His grandmother couldn't wake him up this morning.

Not until now, past nine, did Li Xiang finally get out of bed and go to the bathroom.

Undeniably, after reading Literary Era, Li Xiang's faith in Jiang Party had risen another notch—he was now utterly unshakable in his belief.

The level of detail in the writing made Li Xiang feel, between every line, Xu Youyu's profound love for the male and female leads' relationship.

Thinking of the male lead's real-life prototype, Li Xiang couldn't help but sigh.

Jiang Mingyue's progress in I Am Really Not a Star was the fastest—this was victory one.

The real-life progress between Jiang Mingyue's prototype and the author herself was also the fastest—this was victory two.

In the novel written by Jiang Mingyue's prototype, the male lead modeled after Li Luo and the female lead advanced even more rapidly, leaving readers endlessly nostalgic—this was victory three.

With such overwhelming advantages, how could success not be assured?

Thinking of this, Li Xiang shook his head, stretched lazily by the window, changed clothes, and prepared to go next door for breakfast to fill his stomach.

After lunch, those still staying here would scatter—returning to the city to work or to school as needed.

Li Xiang had already bought a high-speed train ticket back to Changning City for tomorrow; he'd soon have to return to campus for registration.

The thought made him feel unexpectedly reluctant.

But when he arrived next door, Lin Xiuhong, who was cleaning the living room, spotted him and said, "Li Xiang, Li Luo hasn't woken up yet—go check on him, tell him to get up quickly, pack his things, we're leaving this afternoon."

"Oh, okay, got it," Li Xiang nodded and headed upstairs.

But halfway up, he stopped, wondering: could Li Luo still be asleep because he'd overexerted himself last night?

The moment he thought of this, his heartbeat quickened slightly; he began mentally calculating, quietly preparing himself psychologically.

Hmm… most likely it was Xu Youyu.

As a Jiang Party member, Li Xiang felt this was the most probable scenario.

After all, Xu Youyu slept in the bedroom next to Li Luo's—close proximity gave him the advantage; late at night, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng were in the adjacent room, so they couldn't have come over.

But when he reached the third floor, he reconsidered—he couldn't be so hasty; maybe it was Ying Chanxi or Yan Zhusheng inside?

Though Jiang Party was now dominant, that didn't mean the other two parties had no room to exist.

Li Xiang decided he still needed to brace himself mentally; after another round of inner preparation, he finally walked to Li Luo's bedroom door.

He took a deep breath, gently knocked, then thought maybe he was overthinking—perhaps only Li Luo was inside.

But after knocking, there was no response from within.

Li Xiang froze, wondering: could Li Luo have slipped into a girl's room in the middle of the night?

At that thought, he grabbed the doorknob, turned it gently, and cracked the door open a sliver.

Then he peered through the gap at the bed—and his expression froze…

Hmm… no wonder you're my little uncle—this time it's Yan Zhusheng?

Seeing the two people asleep on the bed, Li Xiang couldn't help but laugh and groan at once, wondering what kind of situation this was.

He'd now caught Ying Chanxi, Xu Youyu, and now Yan Zhusheng—all in one go—truly unprecedented.

Has there ever been a moment in your bedroom when you were alone, little uncle?

Do girls just keep refreshing in there constantly?

Thinking of this, Li Xiang couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head; he prepared to close the door again and use his old method—shout loudly to wake them up.

But the next second, his gaze accidentally fell on the floor—and he froze.

Because.

He thought he'd seen…

A foot?

Li Xiang, bewildered, pushed the door open a little wider and looked toward the floor beside the bed.

The next instant, he was utterly petrified.

Shit…

After a long while, Li Xiang slowly stepped back half a pace, rubbed his eyes and temples, still unable to believe what he'd seen.

He slapped himself twice—sharpening his senses—then stared again.

Inside the bedroom: two people on the bed, two people on the floor—still clearly visible, not a hallucination from staying up too late.

Confirmed, Li Xiang's expression went blank; something inside his mind suddenly shattered.

He simply couldn't understand how this was even possible…

But in that very moment, he suddenly understood.

There had never been a Qingmei Party, nor a Mo Party or Jiang Party.

From the very beginning, there had only ever been one party—the Li Party.

Don't you want them all?

Previously, I thought the Li Yang in the novel should pick just one and bring her home as a wife—it made more sense according to real-world logic.

But now Li Xiang has confirmed it.

Reality really doesn't need logic at all!

This thing is even more fantastical than a novel.

Li Xiang quietly closed the door, his emotions lingering, unable to settle.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed such a thing could happen in this world.

If the bed in this room weren't too small, wouldn't you all already be sleeping on the same bed together, the four of you?